Here are Orlando area high school scores and top performers from Monday, May 20:

Baseball

FHSAA STATE TOURNAMENT 

At Hammond Stadium, Fort Myers

CLASS 2A semifinals

St. Johns Country Day 5, Northside Christian 4

Buzz: The Spartans (24-6) scored twice in the bottom of the 7th inning to advance to Wednesday’s final.

Miami Christian 9, The First Academy 2 

Buzz: Blake Fields went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored for the Royals (24-7) in the loss while Will Dizney added a single, run scored and an RBI.

Tuesday’s schedule:

CLASS 3A semifinals

Bishop Verot (25-5) vs. North Broward Prep (26-3), 10 a.m.

Trinity Christian (24-6) vs. Westminster Christian (24-4), 1 p.m.

CLASS 4A semifinals

Mulberry (19-9) vs. Cardinal Gibbons (23-4-2), 4 p.m.

Merritt Island (24-5) vs. South Walton (20-10), 7 p.m.

Wednesday’s schedule:

CLASS 2A championship

Miami Christian (22-4) vs. St. Johns Country Day (24-6), 2 p.m.

Softball

FHSAA TOURNAMENT

At Legends Way Ballfields, Clermont

Tuesday’s schedule:

CLASS 2A semifinals

Academy at the Lakes (19-11) vs. Evangelical Christian (26-2), 11 a.m.

Fort Pierce Carroll (24-6) vs. University Christian (18-7), 1 p.m.

CLASS 3A semifinals

Montverde Academy (26-4) vs. Somerset Charter (22-6-1), 3 p.m.

Calvary Christian (22-5) vs. Baldwin (29-1), 5 p.m.

Wednesday’s schedule:

CLASS 2A

Championship, 4 p.m.

CLASS 3A

Championship, 7 p.m.

CLASS 4A semifinals

Eustis (24-2) vs. Labelle (24-6), 11 a.m.

American Heritage-Plantation (18-10) vs. Baker County (20-5), 1 p.m.

Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com. 

MIAMI — Josh Bell singled with the bases loaded in the 10th inning to give the Miami Marlins a 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.

Christian Bethancourt’s sacrifice bunt against reliever Mitch White (1-1) advanced automatic runner Vidal Brujan to third. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was intentionally walked and stole second. Bryan De La Cruz drew an intentional walk before Bell hit a grounder to right field that scored Brujan.

Tanner Scott (4-4) allowed a leadoff walk to Christian Yelich in the top of the 10th. Joey Ortiz’s sacrifice bunt advanced courtesy runner Brice Turang and Yelich before Scott struck out Willy Adames and retired Gary Sánchez on a flyout to medium center.

The NL Central-leading Brewers used seven relievers after starter Joe Ross left after the first inning because of a low back strain.

Yelich stole two bases, including his first career theft of home.

Miami tied it at 2-all on Otto López’s RBI single off Trevor Megill in the ninth. Nick Gordon hit a two-out single, then stole second before López hit a bloop single to right.

Marlins starter Ryan Weathers kept Milwaukee hitless until Andruw Monasterio’s solo shot with two outs in the fifth that broke a scoreless tie. The drive by Monasterio sailed above Miami center fielder Chisholm’s leap at the wall.

Yelich drew a one-out walk against Weathers in the sixth, then stole second and advanced to third on catcher Nick Fortes’ throwing error. During Adames’ at-bat, Yelich gradually extended his lead before sprinting for the plate and beating Fortes’ tag.

Gordon’s RBI single in the seventh narrowed the deficit.

Weathers was lifted after seven innings of two-run ball. The left-hander gave up two hits, walked three and and struck out eight.

The Brewers recalled right-handed pitcher Bradley Blalock from Double-A Biloxi and designated right-hander reliever Thyago Vieira for assignment.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers: Reinstated OF Joey Wiemer (right knee discomfort) from the 10-day injured list and optioned OF Chris Roller to Triple-A Nashville. … 1B Rhys Hoskins (right hamstring strain) is with the team and participated in running drills before the game.

Marlins: RHP JT Chargois (neck spasms) is schedule to appear in a rehab game with Triple-A Jacksonville on Tuesday. … INF Xavier Edwards (left foot infection) went 3-for-7 over two rehab games with Jacksonville Saturday and Sunday.

UP NEXT

LHP Robert Gasser (2-0, 0.00) will start the middle game of the series for the Brewers on Tuesday while LHP Trevor Rogers (1-6, 5.79) will go for the Marlins.

DeVante Parker, the former Miami Dolphins wide receiver and first-round draft pick, has retired.

Parker, who spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Dolphins, was just more than two months removed from signing with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason. However, as teams across the league get going with organized team activities ahead of the 2024 season, he decided to call it a career instead.

The 31-year-old cited wanting to spend more time with his children to ESPN as his reasoning for the decision.

Parker, although often battling injuries, never had a season where he played fewer than double-digit games. He was a 6-foot-3 possession receiver who wouldn’t create much separation but could use his frame to make catches over defenders.

Parker totaled 338 receptions for 4,727 yards and 27 touchdowns in his seven seasons with the Dolphins after they drafted the Louisville product with the No. 14 pick in 2015. His best campaign came in 2019, when he posted career highs of 72 catches, 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns.

In the 2022 offseason, Miami traded him and a fifth-round pick within the division to the New England Patriots for a third-round draft selection. It came as the Dolphins brought in star wideout Tyreek Hill via trade with the Kansas City Chiefs to lead the receiving corps.

Following two nondescript seasons with the Patriots, he was released March 11 and then signed by the Eagles the next day.

GAINESVILLE — The end of Jac Caglianone’s record-setting run is set to arrive like one of the towering lefty’s 98-mph fastballs — fast and a bit unpredictable.

Perhaps the best two-year stretch in program history has been a blur for the 21-year-old two-way star and Gator Nation, led by his two biggest fans.

Jeff and Johanne Caglianone have shared a front-row seat for their son’s improbable journey, rarely missing a game at home or away.

“It’s really kind of surreal for us,” Jeff told the Orlando Sentinel. “He’s had success at a lot of levels, but you never envision what he’s been able to do.”

Against all odds, Jac Caglianone wants to keep on going during the postseason, beginning Tuesday at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. The 9th-seeded Gators (28-26) face No. 8 Vanderbilt (35-20) with the winner advancing to the double-elimination championship bracket and the loser going home.

A season after coming one win shy against LSU of a College World Series title, Florida has struggled despite Caglianone’s efforts at the plate and on the mound.

“It’s frustrating,” his father said. “He can be torn at times — ‘I’m having success.’ But it’s not as important when we’re not winning. That sounds cliché, I get it. But he really wants the team to succeed.”

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Caglianone has endured soul-crushing losses, outsized expectations, the omnipresent spotlight and the focus of every UF foe to produce another historic individual season.

“He walks on the field, and he’s the biggest and strongest guy on either team,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “You’re being singled out. You can feel like you’re on an island.

“It’s not easy.”

Yet Caglianone is batting .413, currently third in school history, with 29 home runs, 4 shy of his 2023 record 33, and has a slugging percentage of .851, well ahead of Matt LaPorta’s school record .817 in  2007. During a 9-4 loss last Thursday at Georgia, Caglianone’s hit streak ended at 30 games, tied for the school record.

If Florida, which sits No. 24 in the RPI, picks up some wins at the SECs and slips into the NCAAs, he’ll have a shot to break LaPorta’s record 74 homers set from 2004-07. After all, Caglianone has 10 multi-homer games and this season tied the NCAA record with 9 straight games with a home run.

Despite prodigious power, he has a possible future as a pitcher, earning him the nickname Jac-tani — a nod to MLB star Shohei Ohtani. 

UF’s most consistent hurler on a struggling staff, Caglianone is 5-1 with a 4.35 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 62 innings. While control can be an issue — he’s allowed 44 walks — he’s developed a change-up to pair with a blistering fastball.

Whatever the future holds, Caglianone is a projected top-5 pick with options.

“He’s been asked that question I don’t know how many times,” Jeff Cagilanone said. “He can do both.” 

Jac Caglianone’s passion and penchant for baseball were evident early on and nurtured by a father who played the game, including two seasons at Stetson University.

Jeff coached Jac from age 3 in T-ball at the YMCA until he reached Plant High School.

“I wanted him to hear a different voice,” Jeff said.

But until college, father and son continued to spend hours on the game’s fine points during hitting drills and strategy sessions, developing Caglianone’s high baseball IQ.

“We’ve worked situations,” Jeff said. “You have a place to be — no matter what position you play — on every pitch. He was always working on something as opposed to see how far he could hit.”

The evening routine became predictable.

Jac would come home from practice, eat dinner and head to the field with Jeff, a managing partner at a Tampa law firm.

“He was always like, ‘Dad can we go hit?’ ’’ Johanne recalled. “[Jeff] never said no, because he said, one day I won’t be able to do this.”

When Caglianone fulfilled his childhood dream and signed with UF, where Tampa Plant legend Preston Tucker starred a decade earlier, Jeff and Johanne became season-ticket holders and fixtures at the top of the lower bowl along the first-base line at UF’s Condron Family Ballpark.

When their son is pitching, those prime seats are often empty.

“It’s hard; you want him to do well,” Johanne said. “You just hold your breath.”

While Caglianone threw during the Gators’ regular-season finale, Mom nervously paced the concourse. Meanwhile, Dad was a ghost.

“I don’t know where he is,” Johanne said.

But once the game ended with a 7-5 loss to Kentucky, Caglianone rose to the occasion amid the disappointment in his final home game.

None of the fans who lined up for his autograph left disappointed. Later outside the ballpark, a girl in braces flashed a big smile wearing a No. 14 jersey with Caglianone’s John Hancock on the back.

“A lot of the stuff he’s done on the field is great,” Jeff said, his eyes welling up. “But when we see him interact with the kids, we kind of get more satisfaction from that.”

Caglianone won’t sign another autograph or perform in Gainesville for UF fans. After leaving his home field for the final time, he reflected on the best days of his young life.

“Just playing in front of your home crowd, there’s nothing like it,” he said. “It’s been nothing but great for me and my family. They love it.

“I’m going to miss it all.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

By STEVE REED

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. threw a right hook at Kyle Busch, and suddenly, an otherwise boring All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway had NASCAR fans buzzing heading into next weekend’s marquee Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

Busch had wrecked Stenhouse on the second lap of the $1 million race May 19 in a move that looked like retaliation for how Stenhouse had raced him earlier. Stenhouse drove his damaged Chevrolet to Busch’s pit stall and parked it, and with no way to get out of the track while the race was going on, stewed in street clothes for hours until Busch arrived at his hauler.

That’s when Stenhouse, after a brief conversation, threw a right hook at the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet, setting off a brief melee that involved members of each driver’s crew — and Stenhouse’s father. The brawl was eventually broken up, but not before more words were exchanged from both sides and Stenhouse vowed, “I’m going to wreck you at Charlotte.”

“Bring it,” Busch replied. “I suck as bad as you,” implying that both drivers are not having great seasons.

The antics could result in a suspension for Stenhouse, the 2023 Daytona 500 champion, other crew members and possibly his father. Busch also could face a penalty if NASCAR determines that he deliberately caused the wreck.

Stenhouse’s fury was evident the moment he parked in Busch’s pit stall, then climbed the pit stand ladder and had words with members of his crew. As Stenhouse climbed down and walked away, his car had to be towed from pit road.

“I parked it there because I figured Kyle would do something similar,” Stenhouse said.

Later, during an interview with Fox Sports, Stenhouse indicated he would confront Busch after the race.

And then he did.

Stenhouse, dressed in yellow shorts and a gray T-shirt, waited for Busch in the infield and confronted him face-to-face before unleashing a punch. Security jumped in and pulled Stenhouse away, falling backward over a tire, while Busch likewise wound up on the ground. Stenhouse’s father, Ricky Sr., got into the fracas and appeared to take at least one of Busch’s punches.

Stenhouse could be heard yelling “Dad!” numerous times, but he couldn’t get to his father.

“First lap of the race, we don’t even have water temp in the car yet and we’re wrecking each other,” Busch said. “I am tired of getting run over by everybody. But that’s what everybody does: everybody runs over everybody to pass everybody.”

Stenhouse clapped back at Busch: “Go back and watch the replay. I didn’t touch you. Not once.”

Stenhouse took another shot at Busch after the fight, saying he had bad-mouthed him ever since Stenhouse once wrecked him at Daytona, and then went on to say that Busch is just frustrated because “he doesn’t run as well as he used to.”

Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, is 13th in points and has yet to win a race this season.

The All-Star Race itself lacked any drama once Kyle Larson arrived by helicopter from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the 2021 Cup Series champion had qualified fifth for his Indy 500 debut earlier in the day.

Pole sitter Joey Logano led all but one of the 200 laps to take home $1 million. It was yet another example of NASCAR’s struggles to find the right short track setup despite allowing the use of multiple variations of tires at North Wilkesboro.

“You couldn’t pass,” runner-up Denny Hamlin said. “I would lose a little bit of air there, and I would try to give my car a break and then run at (Logano) again. Hats off to the track, NASCAR and Goodyear for giving it a try. Hopefully, we learned something here for future short tracks.”

Then he smirked and added, “But at least we had an exciting fight in the end. That’s something to talk about.”

By STEVE REED

Associated Press

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. threw a right hook at Kyle Busch, and suddenly an otherwise boring All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway had NASCAR fans buzzing heading into next weekend’s marquee Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

Busch had wrecked Stenhouse on the second lap of Sunday’s $1 million race in a move that looked like retaliation for how Stenhouse had raced him earlier. Stenhouse drove his damaged Chevrolet to Busch’s pit stall and parked it, and with no way to get out of the track while the race was going on, stewed in street clothes for hours until Busch arrived at his hauler.

That’s when Stenhouse, after a brief conversation, threw a right hook at the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet, setting off a brief melee that involved members of each driver’s crew — and Stenhouse’s father. The brawl was eventually broken up, but not before more words were exchanged from both sides and Stenhouse vowed, “I’m going to wreck you at Charlotte.”

“Bring it,” Busch replied. “I suck as bad as you,” implying that both drivers are not having great seasons.

The antics could result in a suspension for Stenhouse, the 2023 Daytona 500 champion, other crew members and possibly his father. Busch also could face a penalty if NASCAR determines that he deliberately caused the wreck.

Stenhouse’s fury was evident the moment he parked in Busch’s pit stall, then climbed the pit stand ladder and had words with members of his crew. As Stenhouse climbed down and walked away, his car had to be towed from pit road.

“I parked it there because I figured Kyle would do something similar,” Stenhouse said.

Later, during an interview with Fox Sports, Stenhouse indicated he would confront Busch after the race.

And then he did.

Stenhouse, dressed in yellow shorts and a gray T-shirt, waited for Busch in the infield and confronted him face-to-face before unleashing a punch. Security jumped in and pulled Stenhouse away, falling backward over a tire, while Busch likewise wound up on the ground. Stenhouse’s father, Ricky Sr., got into the fracas and appeared to take at least one of Busch’s punches.

Stenhouse could be heard yelling, “Dad!” numerous times but he couldn’t get to his father.

“First lap of the race, we don’t even have water temp in the car yet and we’re wrecking each other,” Busch said. “I am tired of getting run over by everybody. But that’s what everybody does: everybody runs over everybody to pass everybody.”

Stenhouse clapped back at Busch: “Go back and watch the replay. I didn’t touch you. Not once.”

Stenhouse took another shot at Busch after the fight, saying he had bad-mouthed him ever since Stenhouse once wrecked him at Daytona, and then went on to say that Busch is just frustrated because “he doesn’t run as well as he used to.”

Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, is 13th in points and has yet to win a race this season.

The All-Star Race itself lacked any drama once Kyle Larson arrived by helicopter from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the 2021 Cup Series champion had qualified fifth for his Indy 500 debut earlier in the day.

Pole-sitter Joey Logano led all but one of the 200 laps to take home $1 million. It was yet another example of NASCAR’s struggles to find the right short-track setup despite allowing the use of multiple variations of tires at North Wilkesboro.

“You couldn’t pass,” runner-up Denny Hamlin said. “I would lose a little bit of air there, and I would try to give my car a break and then run at [Logano] again. Hats off to the track, NASCAR and Goodyear for giving it a try. Hopefully, we learned something here for future short tracks.”

Then he smirked and added, “But at least we had an exciting fight in the end. That’s something to talk about.”

The First Academy got off to a promising start Monday afternoon during a Florida High School Athletic Association Class 2A baseball state semifinal in Fort Myers.

But Miami Christian (22-4) plated five runs in the second inning, then held off the Royals (24-7) the rest of the way for a 9-2 finish at Hammond Stadium.

The 3A state champion in 2021, TFA stranded nine runners and committed three errors in the loss.

The Royals jumped out to an early advantage by logging four hits and scoring both runs in the top of the first inning on RBI singles by seniors Will Dizney and Zack Hopper.

Miami Christian scored in the bottom half of the frame to make it 2-1 when a runner scored from third on a double-play ball hit to the right side of the field.

TFA later loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a single by Blake Fields in the sixth but got nothing to show for it.

Fields finished 2-for-3 with a double, one walk and one run scored.

Remo Indomenico, Austin Pierzynski and Roy Rodriguez each went 1-for-4 for the Royals.

The Victors, state champs in 2022, ‘19, ‘18 and 1975, racked up 10 hits and two stolen bases in all while improving to 9-0 all-time in state tournament games.

Miami Christian advances to face 2023 runner-up Orange Park St. Johns Country Day (24-6) on Wednesday afternoon.

Country Day won 5-4 on a walk-off 2-run double to left-center vs. St. Petersburg Northside Christian (20-10) in the other semifinal.

This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email J.C. Carnahan at jcarnahan@orlandosentinel.com.

By TIM REYNOLDS

LeBron James will turn 40 in December. Stephen Curry is 36. Kevin Durant will turn 36 and Jimmy Butler will turn 35 by the time training camps start in the fall.

They have been stars of the playoffs for years, players who come up biggest at the biggest times.

But not this year. The next wave isn’t waiting its turn anymore. They’re here — a bunch of 20somethings, with one of them set to be the best player on the team that will be crowned the best in the NBA about a month from now.

It’ll be either Boston, Dallas, Indiana or Minnesota as the last team standing when the NBA Finals end next month. The best players on those teams — Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for the Celtics, Luka Doncic for the Mavericks, Tyrese Haliburton for the Pacers and Anthony Edwards for the Timberwolves — are all in their 20s.

Brown is 27. Tatum is 26. Doncic is 25. Haliburton is 24. Edwards is only 22. James, Curry, Durant and Butler are still considered greats, but some of the NBA’s star torches sure seem like they’ve already been passed down to the next generation.

“They have no fear,” Dallas guard Kyrie Irving said of the young stars. “They don’t see the O.G. superstars as guys that they look up to as much anymore. They want to kill our records. They want to kill us every time they get on the court. That was the first thing I noticed about Luka, that he just had no fear going against the best in the world. He always walks around like he’s the best player in the world. I think that’s the confidence of a champion. That’s where it starts.”

Out of the 21 regular starters used in the playoffs by the four teams left, only six have turned 30: Boston has 37-year-old Al Horford and 33-year-old Jrue Holiday, the Mavericks have the 32-year-old Irving, the Timberwolves have 36-year-old Mike Conley and 31-year-old Rudy Gobert, and the Pacers have 30-year-old Pascal Siakam.

“Thanks for calling me old,” Siakam said to Haliburton on May 19, after Haliburton tried explaining how the Pacers have a bunch of players who are basically new to this stage and one in Siakam who has a championship from his time in Toronto.

To be fair, in these playoffs, 30 might seem old.

“It’s high-stakes games and it’s going to be crazier as we go,” Siakam said of playing at this time of year. “But I think as long as we stay together, we have a great group of guys … I think that we can lean on each other. They can lean on me for experience, I can lean on them just continuing to learn how to play with them. We’ve just got to go out there and play and believe that it’s possible.”

Experience, right now, surely favors Boston.

The Celtics have five players (Brown, Tatum, Horford, Holiday and Derrick White) with more than 200 career points in the conference finals and the NBA Finals; the other three teams still in these playoffs have two such players, combined (Irving and Siakam).

“It feels like it’s been a long time coming, just being back in this position, getting back to the finals or the conference finals,” Irving said. “It’s just a long way back.”

Irving is truly a rarity in this NBA final four: He has a ring, won with Cleveland in 2016. Almost everyone else left in these playoffs does not. Siakam was on the Raptors team in 2019 that won it all, Dallas’ Markieff Morris was on the Lakers team that won in 2020 and Holiday was on the Bucks’ title team in 2021.

The pressure ramps up now. It’ll ramp up again on June 6 when the NBA Finals start. It shall be seen which of the young stars are ready to take the last — and biggest — step.

“It showed us who we are,” Edwards said after Minnesota ousted Denver in Game 7 on May 19.

The Celtics were supposed to be here; they were the favorites entering the season and are bigger (-150) favorites now. Dallas was +4500 to win the title at one point this season; the Mavericks are +500 now, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Minnesota started the year at +6600; the Wolves are now +260. And it seems like nobody saw Indiana coming; the Pacers’ championship line was +25000 entering the season. They’re +3000 now.

“We’re the uninvited guest,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “So here we are.”

He’s right. The youngsters from Indiana – along with the young stars from Boston, Dallas and Minnesota — have crashed the party. In fact, they have taken over the whole party. One of those clubs will be the newly crowned NBA champions, the sixth different one in the last six years, matching the longest run of parity in league history.

The old guard of the NBA isn’t done yet. But the new class sure seems like it’s ready for prime time.

By TIM REYNOLDS

Associated Press

LeBron James will turn 40 in December. Stephen Curry is 36. Kevin Durant will turn 36 and Jimmy Butler will turn 35 by the time training camps start in the fall.

They have been stars of the playoffs for years, players who come up biggest at the biggest times.

But not this year. The next wave isn’t waiting its turn anymore. They’re here — a bunch of 20somethings, with one of them set to be the best player on the team that will be crowned the best in the NBA about a month from now.

It’ll be Boston, Dallas, Indiana or Minnesota as the last team standing when the NBA Finals end next month. The best players on those teams — Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for the Celtics, Luka Doncic for the Mavericks, Tyrese Haliburton for the Pacers and Anthony Edwards for the Timberwolves — all are in their 20s.

Brown is 27. Tatum is 26. Doncic is 25. Haliburton is 24. Edwards is only 22. James, Curry, Durant and Butler are still considered greats, but some of the NBA’s star torches sure seem like they’ve already been passed down to the next generation.

“They have no fear,” Dallas guard Kyrie Irving said of the young stars. “They don’t see the O.G. superstars as guys that they look up to as much anymore. They want to kill our records. They want to kill us every time they get on the court. That was the first thing I noticed about Luka, that he just had no fear going against the best in the world. He always walks around like he’s the best player in the world. I think that’s the confidence of a champion. That’s where it starts.”

Out of the 21 regular starters used in the playoffs by the four teams left, only six have turned 30: Boston has 37-year-old Al Horford and 33-year-old Jrue Holiday, the Mavericks have the 32-year-old Irving, the Timberwolves have 36-year-old Mike Conley and 31-year-old Rudy Gobert, and the Pacers have 30-year-old Pascal Siakam.

“Thanks for calling me old,” Siakam said to Haliburton on Sunday after Haliburton tried explaining how the Pacers have a bunch of players who are basically new to this stage and one in Siakam who has a championship from his time in Toronto.

To be fair, in these playoffs, 30 might seem old.

“It’s high-stakes games and it’s going to be crazier as we go,” Siakam said of playing at this time of year. “But I think as long as we stay together, we have a great group of guys … I think that we can lean on each other. They can lean on me for experience, I can lean on them just continuing to learn how to play with them. We’ve just got to go out there and play and believe that it’s possible.”

Experience, right now, surely favors Boston.

The Celtics have five players (Brown, Tatum, Horford, Holiday and Derrick White) with more than 200 career points in the conference finals and the NBA Finals; the other three teams still in these playoffs have two such players, combined (Irving and Siakam).

“It feels like it’s been a long time coming, just being back in this position, getting back to the finals or the conference finals,” Irving said. “It’s just a long way back.”

Irving is truly a rarity in this NBA final four: He has a ring, won with Cleveland in 2016. Almost everyone else left in these playoffs does not. Siakam was on the Raptors team in 2019 that won it all, Dallas’ Markieff Morris was on the Lakers team that won in 2020 and Holiday was on the Bucks’ title team in 2021.

The pressure ramps up now. It’ll ramp up again on June 6 when the NBA Finals start. It shall be seen which of the young stars are ready to take the last — and biggest — step.

“It showed us who we are,” Edwards said after Minnesota ousted Denver in Game 7 on Sunday.

The Celtics were supposed to be here; they were the favorites entering the season and are bigger (-150) favorites now. Dallas was +4500 to win the title at one point this season; the Mavericks are +500 now, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Minnesota started the year at +6600; the Wolves are now +260. And it seems like nobody saw Indiana coming; the Pacers’ championship line was +25000 entering the season. They’re +3000 now.

“We’re the uninvited guest,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “So here we are.”

He’s right. The youngsters from Indiana — along with the young stars from Boston, Dallas and Minnesota — have crashed the party. In fact, they have taken over the whole party. One of those clubs will be the newly crowned NBA champions, the sixth different one in the last six years, matching the longest run of parity in league history.

The old guard of the NBA isn’t done yet. But the new class sure seems like it’s ready for prime time.